3-day event to honor WWII veterans

Published 8:00 pm, Thursday, June 2, 2005

Veterans Salute will attempt to re-create history in "Corsairs over Connecticut," a three-day celebration honoring World War II veterans and home-front workers.

The events, in honor of the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII, begin at 9 a.m. today in Stratford and run through Sunday afternoon.

"It will be a touch of history," said Jerry O'Neill, the air display coordinator for the event. "Vets are going to be here who helped save the world."

The entire weekend will revolve around the F4U Corsair planes that were produced at the Chance Vought Corsair Factory in Bridgeport during the war. There will be flight demonstrations, speeches given by veteran Corsair pilots and factory workers and the re-creation of the assembly line that produced the aircraft.

"This will be a once in a lifetime event," said Redding's Alexander Sawchyn, who worked as the chief engine tester for the Lycoming Aviation Corp. for 40 years. "All the veterans are dying off and there will never be anything like this again."

According to O'Neill, there are only 15 to 18 regularly flyable Corsairs left, and there will be six or seven of them on display this weekend. The Corsairs, the pilots and veterans, are coming in from all over the country.

"This isn't going to happen again," O'Neill said. "In 20 years, the sad fact is, they're not going to be around anymore. We're trying to honor (the veterans and home-front workers). It might be the last big event they get to participate in. It's like one last hurrah. They're very proud of what they did and we're proud of them."

Tickets for the event are $7 for adults and free for children under 12 and are good for the daily events. They include static and flying demonstrations of the Corsairs, "war bond rally" speeches, exhibits and displays of war housing, military vehicles - including a B25 Bomber, a hospital exhibit, a memorabilia tent, and displays put on by the airport and the Connecticut Air and Space Center. There also will be a walk-through factory re-creation every morning, which will include costumed "Rosie the Riveter" workers, audio noises and an assembly line, all to give the look and feel of the real Chance Vought Factory during the 1940s.

Additional tickets are required for Friday night's "Pilot Symposium," which features nine veteran pilots from around the country, and Saturday night's "Swing Dance," which features entertainment by the Paul King Orchestra and includes dinner.

Corsairs over Connecticut is being put on in conjunction with this year's annual Barnum Festival. As part of the overlapping events, Saturday's Barnum Parade will be dedicated to the veterans and will feature four Corsairs flying over the entire parade route in a missing man formation.

Though the celebration is a salute to the veterans and home-front workers, its organizers said they hope that this weekend's events will appeal to younger generations as well.

"Some of the people who worked in the factories are their neighbors and they might not even know it," O'Neill said.

Sawchyn said the event could be educational for younger people.

"It will be a wonderful opportunity for younger generations to learn about WWII and get an appreciation for it," Sawchyn said. "It's also a chance for veterans to give their spiels. I tell them, tell their stories, don't take them to the grave with them."

Corsairs over Connecticut is being put on by Veterans Salute, a non-profit organization, and is sponsored by several local businesses. All proceeds from the weekend will benefit the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System and the Connecticut Air and Space Center.